Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/713934
August 2016 • The PCB Design Magazine 69 a better yield, and when the yields go up, the price goes down. Conversely, when the yields go down, the cost is going up. People need to design for end usage. Is this going to be a one- time board? Build it with the highest quality, and you don't need to save money, because it's non-reoccurring. If it's a product, get your cost down. Design it for some monetary reasons, and design for the dollar sign. Matties: And with the attributes of reliability and still meets the functional requirement. Creeden: Right, but you need to know what the end need is, and what the end customers need; is it a Class 2 board, or a Class 3? Well, who designs Class 2 and Class 3? You ask that ques- tion, and most people don't know the answer. The answer is the end-customer. If it's NASA, they want a Class 3 board, because it's going to go in space and I cannot afford anything going wrong. If it's a medical device, it's life-critical. You're in a cockpit, you're flying in an airplane. Do you want the instrumentation in the cock- pit to be Class 2 or Class 3? I'm going to go with Class 3. Matties: Depends on who I'm flying with. Creeden: Well, you were on the plane. Matties: That's what D.B. Cooper said, right? "I've got the parachute!" Creeden: And he lives in San Diego, I learned. Matties: Yeah, they just closed the case, I under- stand. Judy Warner: What kind of focus does IPC's educa- tion for designers give on the manufacturing side? Is it part of the curriculum? Creeden: Absolutely. In the basics class, they teach you everything from the materials, the property of the material, through construction, the material, and how it affects the electromag- netic signature of traces. So you actually learn about the electromagnetic field by understand- ing the material, and they teach you about the process. When I speak, I ask, "What are the tolerances of your CAD data?" Everyone starts thinking, and the answer is that there is no tol- erance. Warner: I was going to say, it's zero. Creeden: It's true position data. Now, you're not going to build something that's exact. Why? Because there are manufacturing process allow- ances based on their process, their equipment, and the material. Those things are the variables that designers need to learn, and that the CID basics gives them from the ground up, and then the advanced module goes more into the electromagnetic and some HDI. It's very much taught in that curriculum. Matties: It's been interesting talking to you. Is there anything that we haven't discussed that we should share with people? Creeden: I appreciate the effort that you all put in, because The PCB Design Magazine provides an avenue of networking, communication, and education. I value education. I've committed much of my career to working with IPC, and working with Gary Ferrari, rewriting the CID and the CID+ manuals. I don't get paid for that. I do it because I value the education. You asked me earlier about where the next generation of designers will come from, because colleges are not producing them. I'd like to point out that just because you have a BSEE, it does not mean that you know how to design a PCB. So, wheth- er you have a degree or don't have a degree, you're no more advantaged to designing a PCB. It's the education that IPC brings, and the edu- cation that you guys bring. You guys are con- stantly searching for what is current, and what is valuable in our industry. I'm grateful that you came by here today so we could share some of insights about what's going on in the industry. Matties: Thank you for those kind words. Creeden: My pleasure. Matties: We're driven to do this, for sure. Mike, thank you so much. PCBDESIGN MIKE CREEDEN: CARE AND TRAINING OF YOUR DESIGNERS